The Chris Hedges Report

Francesca Albanese, a United Nations Special Rapporteur focusing on human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, discusses her findings on state complicity in the ongoing crisis in Gaza. She unveils the alarming roles of 63 countries, including the U.S., in supporting Israel's actions through military and economic means. Albanese warns that the injustices faced by Palestinians reflect broader global injustices and advocates for grassroots actions like boycotts and legal accountability. Her insights challenge listeners to reconsider their role in these complex dynamics.

John Dinges, a veteran investigative journalist and author specializing in Latin American history, joins to explore the 1973 Chilean coup. He discusses the political climate that drew idealistic activists to Chile, the reasons behind U.S. intervention, and how Allende's democratic efforts were sabotaged. Dinges recounts the tragic stories of American citizens Charles Horman and Frank Teruggi, highlighting allegations of U.S. complicity in their disappearances. He draws parallels between Chile's fate and current threats to democracy in the U.S.

Ilan Pappé, a historian and author known for his expertise in modern Palestine and Israeli politics, dives into pressing questions about Israel's future. He argues that Israel stands at a critical juncture, grappling with internal divisions and external isolation. Pappé explores the rise of neo-Zionism under leaders like Netanyahu, the implications of settler ideology, and the precarious state of Gaza. He offers stark predictions about potential collapse, drawing parallels to historical events and highlighting risks of wider regional conflict.

Whitney Webb, an investigative journalist and author of One Nation Under Blackmail, delves into the alarming intersection of tech and state power. She discusses the Thiel network's influence on U.S. policy, emphasizing how figures like Peter Thiel and Elon Musk promote a new form of authoritarianism. The conversation reveals insights on mass surveillance, pre-crime practices, and how Silicon Valley is entangled in military and intelligence operations. Webb warns about the implications of a corporate-state fusion and the urgent need for pushback against these emerging forces.

Seth Harp, an investigative journalist and author of The Fort Bragg Cartel, delves into the intertwining worlds of Special Forces, drug trafficking, and violence. He highlights how battlefield impunity has led to rampant drug use and domestic crises among operators. Harp discusses the dark legacy of assassination units like Delta Force and their roles in controversial domestic events like Waco. His insights reveal a disturbing culture driven by secrecy and unaccountability, raising alarms about the militarization of policing and the troubling overlap between military training and organized crime.

Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor Emeritus at Columbia University and author of The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine, joins to discuss the alarming decline of academic freedom in U.S. universities. He reveals how professors now fear teaching sensitive topics on Israel and Palestine due to threats of disciplinary action. Khalidi expresses concern over federal funding pressures and the influence of off-campus groups shaping campus narratives. He emphasizes the broader authoritarian agenda and the critical role universities play in preserving democratic dissent.

Ralph Nader, a revered consumer advocate and former presidential candidate, discusses the urgent need for civic engagement against the backdrop of Trump’s regime. He identifies Trump’s actions as fascistic, highlighting how corporate influences weaken the Democratic Party. Nader urges Americans to reclaim their power, detailing policy opportunities that could rally voters. His latest book, Citizen Self-Respect, advocates for organized advocacy, emphasizing that civic action is necessary to combat governmental overreach and restore democratic values.

Medea Benjamin and CODEPINK, the organization she cofounded, are synonymous with accosting power in the United States. Their fearless confrontations with the nation’s most prominent and powerful politicians in the halls of Congress, often seen through viral videos, are a stark embodiment of the First Amendment. Despite over 20 years of activism and consistent critique of America’s representatives over their subservience to the military industrial complex and other big money interests, their ability to have these conversations is beginning to dwindle.   Benjamin joins host Chris Hedges on this episode of The Chris Hedges Report to discuss the current moment in American politics, which sees free speech sitting on a knife’s edge following the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the American political class’s continued support of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.   Benjamin was recently arrested after questioning Rep. Darrell Issa about Israel’s recent airstrike targeting Hamas negotiators in Qatar. Despite police saying she did nothing wrong, Issa continued with lodging a complaint against her, a move she believes is also in line with the suppression of activists and free speech.   Furthermore, after CODEPINK activists confronted Donald Trump and his cabinet at a restaurant and chanted at the president, ““Free DC, free Palestine, Trump is the Hitler of our time,” Trump said he is looking into having US Attorney General Pam Bondi bring RICO charges against the protestors “because they should be put in jail.”

Max Blumenthal, Editor of The Gray Zone and investigative journalist, dives deep into the complexities of contemporary censorship, likening it to McCarthyism. He discusses the nuanced relationship between conservative Charlie Kirk and the Zionist lobby, questioning support shifts within Kirk's base. Blumenthal sheds light on the political exploitation of dissent following high-profile assassinations and the implications for U.S. democracy. The conversation also touches on themes of political violence, societal polarization, and the manipulation of narratives to enforce surveillance and repression.

Raz Segal, an Israeli historian and an associate professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Stockton University, analyzes how the weaponization and distortion of the Holocaust, in the midst of the genocide in Gaza, has been used to serve the narrative of Zionists and the Israeli government. He tells host Chris Hedges on this episode of The Chris Hedges Report: “We know that Holocaust education eventually was more focused on transmitting this feeling of exceptionality than actually teaching about Holocaust as history, as real history, as normal history, as a part, indeed, of the making of the modern and late modern world.” Segal recounts his personal experience learning about the Holocaust in Israel, revealing a Zionist perspective that is both skewed and contradictory. “Jews, because they were a unique people, always faced a unique hatred, anti-Semitism, which then culminated in a unique genocide, really the only genocide ever in human history, in this framework: the Holocaust,” he explains. Though Segal outgrew this propagandized view, he explains that many in Israel and its international supporters still frame Jews and the Holocaust as exceptional. This belief in exceptionalism, Segal argues, blurs the history that led to the Holocaust and the events that have followed. “We really can't understand the phenomena of modern genocide without understanding the nation-state system, the exclusionary nation system and colonialism, European expansion around the world, settler colonialism and colonial genocides that accompanied this expansion for hundreds of years,” Segal contends.